The NSW Police have issued a warning to the state’s thousands of jobseekers, after it was revealed that dodgy recruitment websites were targeting applicants and effectively defrauding them!

According to the ABC, the police have notified jobseekers that fake job advertisements are becoming increasingly common. Potential employees are asked to send over a host of personal documents including drivers license, passports and even birth certificates. Authorities said these sensitive documents could then be used in later criminal enterprises.

Commander of the NSW Police Fraud and Cybercrime Squad, Detective Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis, told the ABC that the information breach was potentially dangerous.

“Once the criminal groups get possession of those documents, they take over the victim’s identity, set up accounts the victim has no knowledge of, use those accounts to launder money, set up other accounts, even fraudulent mortgage accounts,” he explained.

But the scams didn’t end there. According to the police, fake emails received in the name of the ATO and NSW Debt Recovery Offices were also used to defraud job seekers and blight them with info-seeking malware. In the end, the tens of thousands of people affected by these criminal actions fail to notify police of the scam, for fear that they will be judged for their actions.

“You don’t have to be an idiot and you don’t have to be silly. These people who are committing these crimes online are very, very smart at what they do,” Detective Superintendent Katsogiannis explained.

The police have also warned job seekers to more closely control their personal details made available through social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

“This type of information is invaluable to criminals, because they’ll use that to take over identities and set up fake accounts,” the veteran policeman said. “Once your identity is stolen it’s very, very difficult to get it back.”

Authorities have advised jobseekers to avoid such requests, stating unequivocally that no real potential employer would ever ask for copies of such sensitive documents. So keep your eyes open and always be aware of the downside associated with clicking the ‘Apply Now’ button too quickly.

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